THIEVES brought down a live electricity cable carrying 11,000 volts.

The bungling burglars struck at the former Gateforth prisoner-of- war camp near Thorpe Willoughby in an attempt to steal the copper cable for scrap.

But after getting the live cable to the ground they discovered the cable was made of the much cheaper aluminium and left it where it was. But not before cutting off the power to parts of Thorpe Willoughby.

It is the third time thieves have struck in the village in recent times and they are being warned that they are dicing with death.

Head of safety at CE Electric UK, Paul Norton, said the thieves put their own lives – and those of local residents – at risk.

He said: “No doubt the thieves were lured by the prospect of making a quick buck, but by bringing down power lines, they are lucky they have not killed themselves or anyone unfortunate enough to be passing by. To the untrained and uninitiated, power lines are deadly and in the past our staff have turned up to discover charred bodies at the crime scene after similar incidents.

“Fortunately, it appears that there have been no serious injuries this time, but it could have been a very different story.”

In the latest incident, at just before 11am on July 29, rapid response electricity engineers investigating reports of power cuts in the village interrupted the thieves to find wires carrying 11,000 volts of electricity – enough to power the entire village – trailing on the ground next to the former prisoner of war camp. They escaped before the police arrived.

The damage cut off electricity to 154 homes from 8am to 3.40pm on July 29 and residents from a wider area reported a dip in voltages.

A spokesperson for CE Electric UK said the company does not know exactly how the cables were brought down and it is still assessing the cost of the damage, which is expected to reach several thousands of pounds including materials and labour costs.

On July 8, electricity staff found copper power lines trailing in a road in Thorpe Willoughby after a wooden pole carrying power lines had been sawn at its base, in another suspected theft attempt. About 2,500 properties were left without power.

On 8 June, electricity staff found that a wooden pole carrying power lines had been burnt down in a suspected metal theft attempt, leading to approximately 2,500 properties being left without power.

Anyone with information about any of the attempted thefts should phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060247.